Float valve



Oct. 7, 1941. F, 0, GRAHAM 2,258,450

FLOAT VALVE Filed Aug. 2, 1940 @l v s N MN --w-/f/-f---g La m \\2\ *Q q jg-Th ITU m No: Q H

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1'HMQ- patented ct. "7, 1941 FLOAT VALVE l Frank 0. Graham, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Temprite Products Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of ltllichigany f Appiicaticn aug-.1st 2, 1940, serial No. :$50,026 3 claims. (c1. i2- 127) This invention relates to float valves and more particularly to the so-called high-side iioat valves utilized in mechanical refrigeration systems.

'I'he use of the high-side float valve in refrigeration systems has been subject to the drawback that the presence of uncondensed vapor, air or other uncondensable gas in the system tends to accumulate in the float chamber of the valve and, as such accumulation proceeds, the valve finally becomes gas locked and fails to operate. This problem has been especially troublesome in connection with high-side oat valves of large capacity. Various eXpedients have been proposed to overcome the difliculty but most of these proposals have been open to the objection of complication and undue cost or interference with other parts of the refrigeration system.

Accordingly the general object of the present invention is the provision of a form of construcf tion for high-side float valves which obviates the above mentioned difliculties, which is relatively simple and reliable in operation and which is well adapted for use in high-side iioat valves of large construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter set forth in connection with the accompanyng drawing of a preferred form of construction and as defined in the appended claims.

The drawing shows a vertical axial section through a high-side float valve embodying the invention.

Referring in detail to the construction illustrated, the casing structure of the valve comprises a cylindrical shell designated as an entirety by the numeral I and having a main member 2 I and a second member 3 hermetically connected to the member 2. The shell member 2 is apertured to receive a threaded inlet fitting 4 and the shell member 3 is apertured to receive a valve casing structure designated as an entirety by 5.

The structure 5 comprises a cylindrical casing member 6 which projects through the aperture in the shell member 3, being formed with a shoulder Ia to engage the inner side of the shell wall. The member 6 is soldered or otherwise hermetically joined to the shell member 3. The member 6 has circular openings in its opposite ends, one of these openings being internally threaded to receive a flanged coupling member l and the other of said openings being arranged to closely iit a valve cage member 8 which is secured (as by soldering) to the coupling member 7. Free communication through the side wall of cage 8 is provided by a series of openings 8a. The coupling member I is fitted with avalve seat mem-v ber 9 which also is secured to member 'l with a pressed iit. Within the cage 8 is a needle valve iiI arranged to engage the seat 9 and having. a stem` we which has a nice sliding t in the end wall of the cage 8. A helical spring II surrounds valve Il! having one of its ends engaging the seat member 9 and its other end engaging a ring I2 that abuts against a flange on the valve IU.

At its lower side the casing'member is formed with an opening fitted with a sleeve I3 upon the upper end of which is seated a light weight valve I4, the stem of which has its lower end provided with a disk I5 `to serve as an abutment for the lower end of arelatively weak spring I6, vthe upper end of which engages the endV of sleeve I3. At its upper side the casing member 6 has an aperture in which is hermetically fitted the lower end of an open-ended tube I1 which extends upward and has its open upper end disposed' near the top of the chamber formed bythe shell I.

The shell I forms a, chamber for a float I3 which has a bent rod I9 pivotally mounted at 2Q on a bracket 2| which is secured inthe end wall of casing member 6 with the depending end of the rod I9 disposed t0 engage loosely the adjacent end of the valve stem Ilia.

In the use of the valve as a part of a closed cire cuit refrigeration system, a liquid refrigerant line leading from a suitable refrigerant compressor and condenser is connected with the inlet fitting 4 of the casing and a suitable conduit leading to the evaporator of the closed system is connected with the ntting 1 of the valve, the evaporator in turn being connected with a suction line leading to the suction side of the refrigerant compressor. All of the mentioned parts of the refrigeration system are well known and therefore have not been illustrated in the drawing.

With the iloat chamber of the valve casing empty, the weight of the iioat is applied to the end of the valve stem Iila and tends to press the v-alve I0 against its seat in opposition to the pressure of the spring I I. This spring is made strong enough to unseat the valve against the maximum head pressure of the refrigerant when the valve is relieved from the weight of the float. As liquid refrigerant enters the float chamber the level of the liquid gradually rises and lifts the float so that the valve I is relieved from the weight of the float and spring II acts to open the valve I0, thus opening the interior of the casing member 6 to the low pressure side of the refrigeration system. Thereupon, liquid refrigerant under high pressure Will ow from the lower portion of the oat chamber past the lightly spring-loaded valve I4 into the interior of casing 6, through cage openings 8EL and then through valve seat 9 into the low pressure side of the refrigeration system. Valve I4 offers a small resistance to the now of liquid refrigerant and causes to exist Within the casing 6 a pressure slightly lower than the pressure Within the float chamber. This lower pressure, acting through the tube I'I, draws vapor and uncondensable gases from the vapor space in the upper part of the float chamber down into the casing 6 and out past the valve I6 and through the outlet passage of tting 'I.

In this manner, during the time the main valve I0 is open, any excess vapor, air or other uncondensed gas which may have accumulated above the liquid level in the float chamber is drawn off into the low pressure side of the refrigeration system and vapor or gas locking of the float valve is effectively prevented. Since this withdrawal of vapor or gas from the high side to the low side of the refrigeration system occurs only when the main valve I0 is open, it will be seen that there is no loss of refrigerant vapor from the high side to the low side of the system during idle periods Y of the refrigerant compressor and corresponding lowering of efficiency.

As far as the broader aspects of the invention are concerned, the main valve can be constructed and arranged in various modied ways, but the arrangement of the valve to open against the flow under the pressure of a spring and to kclose under the weight of the float, permits a loose connection between the oat rod and the valve and thus makes it possible to construct the coupling l, cage 8, seat 9, Valve IIJ, spring II and washer I2 as a unit which is adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn from the valve casing structure 6, either for purposes of inspection or repairs.

It will be observed that the passages through the valve seats 9 and I3 are of large capacity so that the device is well adapted to handle a large volume of liquid.

While a preferred form of construction has been shown and described, it will be understood that the construction and arrangement of the parts can be varied widely without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a oat valve assembly, the combination of a casing structure forming a float chamber with a fluid inlet passage and a valve chamber with a uid outlet passage and having a passage establishing communication between said chambers; a main valve controlling flow through said outlet passage; means, comprising a iloat in the float chamber, for opening said valve when the liquid level in the float chamber rises and for closing said valve when said level falls; a valve .for restricting the flow of liquid from the float chamber to the valve chamber through the said passage between said chambers, said valve being arranged to open with the flow but being biased against such opening; and means establishing communication between the valve chamber and the upper part of the float chamber above the maximum liquid level therein; whereby, upon the opening of the main valve, suction in the said outlet passage effects a discharge of gas from the upper part of the oat chamber through the said outlet passage.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the main valve is arranged to close in the direction of flow through the outlet passage and in which the means for opening and closing the main valve comprises a spring tending to open the valve and a connection between the valve and the oat arranged to close the valve against the tension of the said spring when the oat falls with the liquid level in the float chamber and to permit the opening of the valve by the spring when the float rises with the liquid level in the float chamber.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the casing comprises a plural-part shell forming the float chamber and having an opening for the inlet of liquid and a valve casing mounted in a second opening in the shell and comprising a unitary structure forming a valve seat and a cage surrounding and guiding the main valve, the said unitary structure with the main valve mounted therein being removable as a unit from the remainder of the casing structure.

FRANK O. GRAHAM. 

